Although the U.S. focus remains on exerting diplomatic and economic pressure on Syria, the Pentagon and the U.S. Central Command have begun a preliminary internal review of U.S. military capabilities, CNN has learned.

The options are being prepared in the event President Barack Obama were to call for them. Two senior administration officials who spoke about the review to CNN emphasized that U.S. policy for now remains the use of non-military options.

The focus on diplomatic options was underscored by the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations in an interview with CNN on Tuesday.

"Before we start talking about military options, we very much want to ensure that we have exhausted all the political, economic and diplomatic means at our disposal," Ambassador Susan Rice said on CNN's “Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer.”

The president has also said that the U.S. is working on non-military options first.

"I think it is very important for us to try to resolve this without recourse to outside military intervention, and I think that's possible," Obama said in an interview with NBC News that aired during the Super Bowl on Sunday.

But the military is beginning to look at what can be done. One of the senior U.S. officials called the effort a “scoping exercise” to see what capabilities are available given other U.S. military commitments in the region.

Both officials pointed out that this type of planning exercise is typical for the Pentagon, which would not want to be in the position of not having options for the president, if and when they are asked for.

It would be Gen. James Mattis, head of U.S. Central Command, who would provide details on what U.S. military assets are available, what missions they could perform if asked, and what risks U.S. forces might face.

“The Pentagon is closely monitoring developments in Syria. It wouldn’t be doing its job if it didn’t put some ideas on the table,” one of the senior U.S. officials told CNN. “But absolutely no decisions have been made on military support for Syria.”

The two officials were not willing to be identified because they were not authorized to talk to the media.

Typically those types of options are held by the Pentagon as very preliminary plans and not even forwarded to the White House unless asked for. If asked, plans are then fleshed out with specific units to support them.

In this type of analysis being done, the military would typically look at all options ranging from humanitarian relief, to support for opposition groups, as well as outright military strikes, although that is an unlikely option, both officials said.

“This remains a campaign to apply economic and diplomatic pressure,” the first official said.

The military’s work to analyze potential military options for Syria has been quietly going on for several weeks, two administration officials confirm to CNN. The bulk of the analysis is being done by staff of General Mattis, who would be the senior commander if the President were to order any action.

Mattis’ analysis is being shared with General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who would then present options to the White House, if it came to that.

“We don’t want to be in the position of suddenly dusting off some five year old plan,” one official said. The official emphasized the work is extremely preliminary but said the military would look at a full range of contingencies.

Arizona Sen. John McCain, the top Republican on the Armed Services committee, told reporters Tuesday that the U.S. should consider "all options including arming the opposition."

But U.S. officials said that adding weapons into the volatile and violent situation is not a viable option.

"We never take anything off the table. The president does (or) doesn't. However, as the president himself made absolutely clear and as the secretary has continued to say, we don't think more arms into Syria is the answer," said State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland.

AMEN!!! All that it would do is fuel the Arab worlds hate for the USA! They don't want our help and if we did help they would say it's for oil and our gas prices would go up for helping them. WE ARE NOT THE WORLD POLICE!!!

Before you rush in consider Russia has military bases there..a sub base...and Iran is a big backer and Iran supports Hamas...If we attack Syria...it's like China attacking Japan..and a big can of worms is setting there...WWI was started by killing one man..and then as one country declared war and entered in because of defense treaties the whole of Europe was brought in...Russia and Iran had treaties with Syria...and probably China..because Syria supports China's one China policy over Taiwan...which is really owned by the U.S.....we won from Japan and Occupied the Island..and China had lost the Island years before to Japan..We never signed the island over to anybody under international law...

two thirds of the worlds population lives under bad governance. two thirds are poor (changing slowly in emerging economies). If we do not learn to say NO we will be one of those newly formed declining economies. Stick to non military option for now. Unfortunately the planet will remain a type 0 civilization for many decades to come. Besides, Syria is a different situation Military intervention could lead to regional war given the relationships with Hamas, Iran, etc. I am sure Russia and China would love a larger arms market, and china would love to lend us more money at 3% to fund it.

It's a category of civilization created by Michio Kaku, a famous theoretical physicist. He created/stars on shows like 'The Universe'. The categories of civilizations are based off how efficient that civilization/race is with using energy, and how they harness it.

February 8, 2012 at 9:42 am |

Corey

Michio Kaku is awesome but he did not create the Kardashev scale. You only heard about it on his television show. It was proposed in 1964 by a Soviet astronomer. 🙂

February 8, 2012 at 9:45 am |

Midranger

Thanks Jacob

February 8, 2012 at 9:46 am |

Barry G.

You know the US would like to help, but you also know that people will resent and criticize us when we intervene and insist that we leave.

Of course there will be little, if any, grattitude for the sacrifices and hard work of the US makes.

Agreed. I think we, for once, should stay the hell out of other people's issues. I feel for the people but we're damed if we do and damed if we don't. How about taking care of all the crap goign on at home instead of spending our money elsewhere AND get no gratitude for it! You don't see other countries rushing in to help out. We're in no better position than anyone else, so why do we continue to do this?

We create our own enemies many times ...We took over the Iran government in 1947 because they wanted to nationalize the oil fields..backed the Shah even though he was brutal...then backed Iraq and Saddam to fight Iran..armed him with WMD's...Then Saddam invaded Kuwait...do you remember Why?...Kuwait was using horizontal oil drilling methods to tap oil field inside Iraq...Wouldn't you be mad too....But then we had to take back our WMD's that Reagan had sold Iraq and Saddam...Even Ho Chi Mien asked the U.S. for help getting independence from France and we said no several times..so he went to USSR...

All the conquerors sacrificed themselves for the conquered ones. In a lot of time England "sacrificed itself" for USA. Spain sacrificed itself for half an America, etc. The world would be better without interventions

Spain brought new viruses to central America and the plague killed off most of the local people, so when Spain bought more people over they found a mostly uninhabited land in Central America, and the northern tip of south America, and southern side of North America...And the European killed off most of the native American Indians..Do you have any idea how many Indian tribes were in North America in the being???

February 8, 2012 at 10:07 am |

Ron

Remember – Russia is not the Soviet Union! Russia is weak and poor Third World country which neither dares to challenge the West nor has resources to wage some proxy war in Syria. Harder pressure on Moscow or simply ignoring Kremlin's demands is the right solution. Western and Arab countries should repeat Kosovo scenario – force Assad to stop mass killings or even to step down through military means. If "resurgent" Russia begins to actively back Assad regime, the West should quickly remember Kremlin its proper position in today's World. It wouldn't be hard to achieve, because backward Russia is fully dependent on economic ties with the West. Nobody should be naive: Yesterday Russian chief spy "conferred" with Assad. Also yesterday there were news that Iranian Quds Force members arrived to Syria to help Assad quell the unrest. Here we are very interesting "coalition of willing", aren't we?

Russia still has ICBM's pointed at the U.S. and we still point ours at them..No one else to point them at on either side....Russia has been invaded how many times??? They are a little paranoid of the west..so is China...China was abused for how many hundreds of years by the western powers??
WE still argue over 911, the Civil war..Perl Harbor, Image if we had 20 more attacks invasions in our history..

Russia is not weak anymore like it was since 1991. Haven't you read the stories about economic advancements in Russia? Besides, it's not only Russia which has a military on par with the US, China has a much bigger military than the US, India sides with Asia, south america, and the Islamic states in majority side with Asia. Really, the USA weakened Europe by converting the Iraqi Euro back to the dollar, uses it for missile defense shields, but doesn't really have the European people's support. So Europe and Israel remain US allies, but can US manage an expensive over seas war against all that man power which is already centralized over there. It is not a war against Russia in a vacuum. The US is the antagonist here. For the future of the world the USA most collapse economically and be divided into manageable pieces for what they did on the 911 inside jobs, their wars as a result, their mass deceptions and trickery and offensive mismanagement of the public trust. Once the USA is under the power of the communist nations, the world will be at peace. Remove the flag also once the US is gone. Demolish American Illuminati symbolism, revamp Hollywood, mature the citizens by appropriate reprogramming.

WOW....You lost me when you went to the crazy talk...yes China and India have armies...but are not friends that is why China is sending cash to Pakistan....and China has an army but how would they use them against the U.S. ...march them through Russia over the Himalayas mountains...Russia is getting stronger and so is China...but Russia has more to fear from China's military then the U.S. military....

February 8, 2012 at 10:34 am |

Ron

Your nickname is very funny and explains every BS you have wrote. Russia has ten times smaller economy that the US, Russian Army has outdated rusting Soviet weapons while US Army is second to none. Russian economy is primitive raw material enterprise characteristic of Third War countries because more advanced industries were mainly destroyed after 1991. Russian society is plagued by low birthrate and life expectancy meaning depopulation, Asiatic immigration, alcoholism, AIDS, narcotics, widespread corruption, organized crime etc. All this twaddling about "resurgent Russia" is only propaganda brainwashing orchestrated by Putin clique to fool naive people inside and outside Russia. In fact destruction of Russia goes forward as during Yeltsin times but now is better hidden by Putin regime after destroying free media and weak democratic mechanisms. Also living standards improved a bit thanks to explosion of oil prices in 2000s but most of petrodollar incomes were wasted or robbed by "real resurgents".

Now you are free to believe such ruined country can wage proxy wars with the West and oil rich Arab countries over Syria! Yet only on the Red Square during military parades where the crowd is watching heaps of ancient Soviet weapons. 🙂

February 8, 2012 at 1:16 pm |

Buzzer

"Bigger" in number of service members doesn always mean "better"... US: 2.9M in service / $1.63T annually v China: 4.5M in service / $698B annually. These "expenditures" equal out to heavily in the U.S.'s favor in $ spend per service member (training to be a large part of said expenditures). One only has to look at the kill ratio in WWII with the Germans and the Russians...approaching 3 to 1.

February 8, 2012 at 7:24 pm |

Deee

I can understand both sides of this argument. Yes, we probably shouldn't just sit back and let innocent people die around the world and we should help whenever we can. The key is WHEN WE CAN. Didn't Obama just announce a plan to downsize our military? This tells me that we are in some type of restructuring phase, which in turn tells me that we don't have the resources to sustain our current level of operations, which in turn tells me that we should not be using what resources we do have unless we have no other option. I feel like in this case we have an option.

That is huge misunderstanding of real situation. US military grew since 2007 by 75000 soldiers because they were needed to wage two protracted land wars. Now this period comes to the end and Obama Administration logically chose to downsize armed forces in the next decade by similar number. As a result after Obama reduction plan US military will still be larger than just after 9/11. In real terms nothing will change then. Also widely discussed future funding cuts on military are meaningless – about 50 billion USD a year – while US military spendings are at level of 800-900 billion USD yearly.

Same as before Iraq? Is the VP forcing anyone to provide false intelligence reports about Syrian WMD's? Is the President trying to get people to believe that Syria was behind 9/11? Did the Arab League support Iraq War 2 (I'm assuming that's the Iraq war you're talking about)?
Also, who says we're going to invade Syria? This is much more likely to turn out like Libya (which was clever – killing our enemies by proxy, letting temporary allies do the dirty work and the dying) than Iraq 2.
Finally, please avoid blanket insults to half of America. It is unhelpful and divisive. I think we should take a page out of the Brits' (WWII) book and refer to each other as "the loyal opposition." When push comes to shove, we had all better be on the same side.

And where is the American Government going to get the money for any of this? 16+ Trillion in debt and counting, Government cannot pay the interest on the fabricated debt. The slave labor of the U.S. should wake up and realize that the Government is a scam, how do you print money out of thin air? Money is based on your slave labor and the hopes you will keep paying into a failed corrupt system of which China owns 78% of the United States, so who do you think you are working for? Who do think your so called elected leaders work for? And why is the publish button not in English?

This is disgusting that so many people and sit on their lazy buuuttts and turn your heads on human lives. You people are totally worthless, and should leave this great country and go live in Russia or China. It is so rewarding to know that in times of trouble you like the chickens you are will RUN. I fought in a war to save peoples lives, why you all sit and judge about something you know nothing about. I would rather die trying to save lives than on a couch or in front of a computer by heart attack. You people are garbage.

Take a pill Bill and stand easy. A lot of us fought in wars but there comes a time when military capability and finances can get stretched a bit thin. We can save them all and I'm not sure it should be up to us to police the globe anyway.

Bill, getting into other countries business is not as easy as 1, 2, and 3. All wars and decisions to intervene on any outside country has always been a process with our country and government. The war you fought in was also decided by our leaders of the land, not by the ones that fought them. I know they need help. We as a nation are not wanting or partiality in getting into the more wars and rumors of wars of other nations.
Some nations like Syria people need to just be patient even under their distress and losses. Plus we are not the world police, many of Americans do not want to send our troops again in harm’s way for a war which is not our own. We have loss so much already. We cannot keep sending our troops to make their country free. We fought and sacrificed for our freedom in our nation, they will too as well. As long as they are fighting to want that freedom, than they prevail.

Try looking past the political aspect. Ignore the boundaries of nations. Do not hate those who do not understand our nation's core values. Bottom line is innocent human beings are being massacared. Freedom is being denied. It doesn't matter who they are or where on this planet they live. The United States has been blessed with the "ability" to help and or condemn to destruction other nations. Sometimes, greed plays a part in decisions of men in power (ie. oil, political agendas, etc...). However, the truth is, if we do not "police" the world, no one else will and people will suffer globaly and we allow a growing threat to our own borders to grow stronger. Nobody wants to allow another Stalin, Hitler, Huessein, 911 to occur. It is in our best interest as a super power to "police" international situations rather than be subjected to unforseen strikes that could cause serious damage to our great nation. It is our responsibility to ensure the freedom we enjoy as Americans is afforded to all people we share this planet with. We will never eliminate terror or world hunger completely, but we can sleep better at night knowing we did the right thing. I'm not going to turn this into a "religious" debate, however, will state, as a Christian I believe we are a nation of such capability for a reason beyond political comprehension. God's will will be done and I believe he uses us to help all people (we are a nation made up of all people, races and religions)...even non-believers because even though his acceptance is demanded and expected, his love is unconditional. As a Veteran, I know and believe in my heart that dying on foreign soil defending foreign innocents is something I accept as the same as defending my country. There's a bigger picture than "who cares about other's people's problems"...remember, like my earlier examples, in time, those other's people problems can quickly become our problem.

Why is it we do almost nothing (except basic law enforcement support) and let tourists and citizens of Mexico die on a daily basis from drug cartels and gangs, and watch the corrupt Mexican government do nothing when they border us. But when citizens of a country on a different continent need help we make it into some big ordeal and justify our right to military action?

Why not send our military into Mexico and just take out all the drug cartels and corrupt govt officials? It can't be any harder than the war on terror... Wouldn't we benefit more from having a safer bordering country?

Good question 47,500 dead in Mexico from the Drug Cartels in just the last 5 years....Part of me thinks the people in power are making money off of all this...Drug use actually went up after Reagan declared a War on Drugs..so did profits...and the Taliban had stopped the opium farmers in Afghanistan...now they are back selling Opium in Turkey, Pakistan, and India...so are the worlds top 1% making big bucks off the drug trade and just pretending to be fight it....Remember Reagan sold weapons and parts to Iran using an Israeli Arms dealer and then sold Anthrax, Sarin Gas and Mustard Gas to Iraq and Saddam...feeding both sides and selling weapons and chemicals to both side...no morals there that I can see..just profits..

What would you attack? Even if you could find them all you would see are just personal vehicles like pickup trucks. The cartel members live like everybody else. They're not in some barracks. They live amongst the population in normal houses. So where do you bomb? Or would you rather try an occupation like in Afghanistan for past 10 years? And we see how well that turned out – NOT.

The only solution to the massive cartel violence is to end the stupid and totally failed war on drugs.

Prohibiton of intoxicants has never worked anywhere at anytime in all the history of mankind !!

What you're describing sounds exactly like what we are doing in Afghanistan... The Taliban and Al Qaeda are living amongst the people and are dressed as every day citizens. We are not massively bombing them, but instead sending out tactical unites and small forces to hunt them down. I'd suggest doing the same thing in Mexico as we are doing in Afghanistan. Plus, Americans are being killed in Mexico even without the USA officially intervening. American's weren't being killed in Afghanistan until we decided to send troops there.

February 8, 2012 at 9:35 am |

dreamer96

Jacob....same in Vietnam...women would walk up to soldiers in Saigon and blow up bombs strapped to their bodies..the enemy was everywhere in Nam....

the u.s. government is not the world police force
YES its sad that a dictator murders his own labor force
But it is no different than what the u.s. government did to the people who lived in north america

The U.S. is not the worlds police force...Well yes and no...We try to keep the peace and the oceans open...and other countries are free to complain about us for the most part...even North Korea and Iran are free to speak up as do Russia and China...but what if there were 30 different police forces how would that work out...that was what we had before WWI and WWII....

No Jefferson Davis...started that war in Charleston South Carolina...where Rick Perry announced his run for the Oval Office..this election is a rerun of the Civil war for many southerners, and southerner minded people..

If the military option is chosen, Western powers should require of the Syrian opposition that, once in power, it will not deal with Russia and China economically for at least 10 years. The real enemy of the West in Syria right now is China and Russia, and we must assure ourselves that they will be a price to pay for having us intervene in that part of the world.

Agreed, US should intervene , US and the western powers has responsibility ethically to stop the Massacres, but in return Syria should not deal with China or Russia for 20 Years at least, and they wont deal, China and Russia and responsible for the Massacres

I can't believe it! Will we never learn?? It's not our problem! If the US military is so anxious to get involved, then send them to our ghettos and clean up our cities. We have plenty of problems here.

no one really cares about the people who are dying.... its just another excuse for the defense contractors and weapons manufacturers to get the pentagon go ahead .....and get involved in some more unnecessary "BS"..... and continue to make money off of misery.... when will amerikans wake up !!! lets spend money on americans and not fake wars.....

I agree we should stay out of it. But this isn’t a ‘fake’ war. No defense contractor started this; no intelligence officer fudged his report. The U.S. isn’t starting every conflict on the planet. You sound as moronic as the amerikans you make fun of.

When the thief helps you find what was stolen, you'll never find it. Most of the Arab league are just like Syria but without a revolution (yet). What exactly should they be fixing? The US has bigger stakes if that region becomes unstable. We certainly can't invade Syria but also certainly can't fold our arms and watch it on CNN.

So getting re-elected is more important than saving lives??? You people need to stay in school or join the military. your freedom my son is because of people like me who fought for this country put our lives on the line so the rest would not have to suffer. You would be the first one to call the police if you had any idea someone was trying to break into your home. I would love to see them say no we are not coming to protect your sorry candy arrrs,

February 8, 2012 at 9:05 am |

Mike

Bill, to these greedy politicians, yes it is more important to get re-elected than save lives... You're an idiot if you think otherwise. I've fought in wars too, and I'm sick of doing it for ungrateful, fanatical people that will just start killing each other again after we leave (look at Iraq). No, I won't rely on the police to come help me when someone breaks into my home. That's why I have my own protection in my own house. I will kill the intruder before the police even get a phone call.

Maybe you should read the article when it was suggested that " all options including arming the opposition." Which we shouldnt even waste a penny on looking at that country. We have enough problems here with our economy without spending more tax dollars on a bunch that will just spit in our faces once we arrive.

February 8, 2012 at 8:56 am |

Mohammed Cohen

This idiot sell-out turn coat McCain who is the dedicated mouth piece of Zionist Isreali lobby AIPAC would not hesitate having thousands of more American soldiers killed like his father did on USS Liberty. While the real diplomacy by Russia and China is making a great progress by having the armed opposition of Syria and the Syrian government talking to each other to iron out their differences, the Zionist cabal among the criminal NeoCons are beating the drum of "military options". I think its time Russia and China send a very strong warning to the war mongering anti-American thugs who are operating under the sinister veil of "patriotism" taking America to its rapidly sinking economic debacle only to make things worse for ordinary Americans just to let the Corporate machine and the military industrial complex keep making big money at the cost of thousands of American and millions of Arab lives. Wake up America for out greatness lies in us being a fair and honest umpire and not a sinister Israel controlled stooge!

Sorry when you sue the term “Zionist” your opinion becomes null and void. Especially coming from someone posting as Mohammed.

February 8, 2012 at 8:58 am |

Duke

@everyone. I can't beleive this is even an issue, innocent people are dying regardless of what country it is, you are all suggesting that we should not get involved and sit idle? It just shows how ignorant you truely are. I shouldn't even have to remind you that if it wasn't for another countries involvement in the American Revolution, we wouldn't be sitting here today. Just goes to show how americans will react if the odd situation we are invaded, wouldn't even be able to count on your neighbor as they don't want to get involved. You all should really wake the F**k up to reality.

Russia's support was lip service because stopping the slaughter of Libyans meant a change in regime. Gadhafi was delirious, unstable, and increasingly incompetent to lead or resolve the country. Wearing your Russian hat, how would you have otherwise stopped the killing of Libyans?

February 8, 2012 at 8:47 am |

Sean

Russia still thinks we are in the cold war.

February 8, 2012 at 8:56 am |

dreamer96

Sean

So does McCain..who I have great respect for...but He was really to go to war with Russia over oil rights in the North Pole...

February 8, 2012 at 9:01 am |

Realitee Thinkin

The real question that must be answered is how can we stop the bloodshed and murder of innocents? Using violence to stop the violence is the insanity we face. This is where words have their biggest impact and all people should be understanding and using them to their power. Trust our creator, gods laws are written on the hearts, words are all that can reach... can you do something wrong and not know? Guns and bombs and.. this message to the suppliers of weapons..you are standing with those who pull the trigger. Not being hypocritical is the mountain which can only be climbed with humility and compassion. Acknowledge your humanity.. Emotions have been mentally suppressed via inculcation and indoctrination, forcing mans law, inducing subtle slavery = money! Killing and destroying are not in harmony with gods creation or for purpose in this life. Send the words from all corners and let them be ashamed! NO WAR!

Well it would be nice if diplomacy worked.. WWII might have been avoided before it started, but had to be fought with violence... once it got started...For Syria and Iran, Russia and China are a big part..how could we win one or both over to a change in government...The Syrian population will remember how they let the slaughtering go on..And If Iran does use a Nuky Weapon anywhere against anyone..Russia mostly, but also China, will be blamed for helping..

To not intervene at this point is terrible by the nations around. We can always know the people who don't help them are probably PoS's inside. You can only do so much and not everyone will adapt the mindset you have. PEACE goes with WAR because some human is always trying to get up on another human through evil means. There is a permanent ladder starting with the lowest rungs of society all the way to the top. You have to pick the battles that are a challenge to you. You can't change the history of your country but you can only make peace if you attempt to understand every country's history. This world is layered on pretty damned good so just make it nice in your layer and for future layers and try to pull the bad ones out by executing them.

Which of God's laws should we follow? And whose God? Will I get to cut out anyone's heart and eat it? Should we burn women to death for adultery, or just stone them to death? Do all women who become pregnant from rape have to marry their rapists, or can some join a nunnery after being punished? Can I use an iron rod to beat my children, or should it be wood? Can I slaughter my neighbors myself if I spot them doing yard work on Sunday, or do I have to call the police to do it? What about gays and lesbians? Do we absolutely have to kill all of them, or can we spare the pretty lesbians?
According to God's law, we should slaughter all of the adult males in Syria, take their women and children as slaves, and keep all their stuff. Oh, and then I think we're supposed to raze their cities.

The Russian FM's visit may have been greated with pomp and circumstance in Syria. I would suspect, however, that Assad was read the riot act and there are probably limits to how much Russia will support him.

Well that is how it is often done...the public talking, and then the private meetings are very different...Russia I hope is not completely blind to the slaughtering...They have their sources inside Syria that are reporting to Moscow too...

And when Iran shows up there to change the dynamic, we must still sit back, fold our arms, and watch CNN. I don't understand why folks can't see beyond their own provincial kitchen-table views. There is a lot at stake in that region! Deal with it now or deal with it years from now. Those are the only options.

Like it or not, the U.S. military is a mercenary force, ready to go anywhere and do anything to fix problems. It would nice if the U.S. was actually paid for sending troops here and there, like a true mercenary force.

Actually no. We are not a mercenary force. We are a force used by politicians who make big speeches to make political points. The fact is that we are the exclamation point for politicians who will never have to face the consequences of an enemy firing back.

Bring back the Draft for anyone under 35, no exceptions, and see how fast the military option gets dropped.

February 8, 2012 at 8:30 am |

John "Johnny mop" Price

Duckforforce- Im guessing your 36....

February 8, 2012 at 8:45 am |

Sean

“You’re”

February 8, 2012 at 9:00 am |

Skeiron

If it makes you happy, the US involvement in the Gulf War back in 1991 was to the largest part paid for by the Arab states (round about 36 billion $), Japan (~10 billion $) and Germany (~6.6 billion $)...

You do understand that the Russian military is still a mess, right? That they're actually receiving foreign aid, including aid from the United States? That they're still selling fighter jet rides to tourists so they can buy jet parts? Also, they have NOT said that they will support either country militarily, but rather diplomatically.

Agreed.
I’m tired of the U.S. spending billions to fix other countries problems. They beg for our help then call us the enemy after. While we are at it lets recall all foreign aid going to welfare countries that have no way of holding up their end of an ‘alliance’. I’m not suggesting isolationism, there are plenty of countries on the planet.

Fawk’em.

February 8, 2012 at 8:19 am |

PlsMakeSensePls

At Jim and Sean, if things were that simple, you guys would be foreign affair scholars but in the real world, things are much more complicated than giving embattled countries the middle finger. You have to use that brain faculty (if you have it) to project into the future and analze causality, actions, reactions, returns (immediate or delayed), status, influence, other enemy stakeholders, etc. But obviously both of you are stuck on immediate returns. Sorry!

February 8, 2012 at 9:23 am |

Charlie

There are NO Options, It's none of our business; Stay out. PLEASE!!! No more Korea's, Vietnam's, Yugoslavia's, Iraq's Libya's. When will these war mongers (More Democrats than Republicans) stop interfering in other peoples business?

Our treaty with the U.N. makes it perfectly clear that we do have the responsibility to work against this type of thing. Besides, it's a terrible day when we stand idly by and let a government kill its people. Historically, we have taken some sort of action against this type of thing.

So now we are left with some decisions to be made. Do we send strike packages to Syria? What exactly would we be striking besides a few tanks? I don't think that would be cost-effective as just one airstrike would cost more than the tanks that it would destroy. Ground troops? There are already enough weapons in Syria and it would be a bloodbath for us. Besides, these s*itty little countries always seem to want our help but start shooting at us once we get there. U.N. peacekeepers? Again, they would go from keeping the peace to defending themselves. I think Damascus would be another Mogadishu.

I guess the decision needs to be made by those who know more than me. We need to show that we care but not enough to commit to another long campaign to throw some idiot out of power. I say we should tag along if, and only if, everybody else is also on board. If Russia and China like Syria so much, and they veto just about everything anyway, kick them out of the U.N. for not playing nice.

If USA did not invade Iraq (proven that, did not have any connection with Al Qaeda nor any WMD) then Iran would STILL be very busy at war with Iraq. Resources of both countries is concentrated in slaughtering each other, not good but a better option than killing American troops. US lost 5000 lives(25000+ wounded, 20,000+ with PTSD) in Iraq and BILLIONS of $$$ which could have helped its economy. Iran is now in the verge (less than a year) of developing a nuclear bomb (because they have the resources after the war with Iraq). Now US vows they would not allow that to happen, in less than a year another war is possible that will also include Israel. Here comes Syria, would US make another mistake in dipping its hands in that country? Let them settle their own scores..! US helped Egypt during the Arab spring revolt, now the Egyptian military leaders are trying to jail (US) NGO workers..its crazy..!..these countries don't deserve a single cent or single drop of american blood, because they are the countries shouting "DEATH TO AMERICA" after being helped by US in gaining "independence" from their blood thirsty leaders..... my take is this..Any country attacks USA in any way (State sponsored terrorism, etc) will be NUKED in an instant...

Equalizer: Iraq had WMD (they used it on their own people and the Iranians during the 1980-88 war). After "Iraq" invaded Kuwait, we removed them during the Gulf War. This was two years after the war ended between Iran and Iraq. After the liberation of Kuwait, the UN, not the US, cataloged the WMDs in Iraq along with their tanks and aircraft. In the following years, we checked on these listings and found stuff disappearing. When we invaded, due to Saddams threats and bullying of the UN inspectors, we went looking for all this stuff. We found a couple of missiles and several aircraft buried under 40 feet of sand south of Bagdad, but unfortunately we couldn't find the barrels of Anthrax the UN cataloged. These are the real facts that you can research and read for yourself. Your arguement is based solely on someone else's political story, The problem with Iran started in 1979. When they hardliners took over, they immediately started calling for the elimination of Israel as a state and the Jews as a people. This is not the type of state to allow to possess nuclear weapons. Do you really think a conflict between Iran and Israel would be beneficial to anyone? Syria is a powder keg of sorts and if not dealt with, will explode the entire region and possibly the world into a war. Unfortunately your solution of nuking everyone is not based on realism. This is not the solution, even in simplistic terms, to any conflict and should not be continually thrown about. Our nuclear arsenal is a defensive deterrent. The reason we are so protective of who gets nukes is because we know that there are some regimes around the world that do not hold humanitarian principles very dear – you know countries who rant about wiping a nation off the map??? BTW, we helped Libya, not Egypt. The Egyptian revolution was their own deal and because of such they are still fighting everyone in an attempt to stamp out opposition. In Libya, the UN authorized and NATO was assigned air cover duties. You seem quite against getting rid of these absolete abusive autocracies even when we have the legal and moral right to do so. Countries should not be killing their own people.

Equalizer, once again, you fail to deliver. You sound too emotional and feminine in your utter lack of a balanced argument. Firstly, you have the facts all wrong then you open your mouth and say something as ludicrous as nuking another country in this day and age. Trigger happy is a good telltale of weakness, my friend.

I wonder how the US government expects to take care of the rest of the world when they can't successfully run their own country. Someone needs to remind the government about who they really work for and let someone else raise their hand this time to help out. We are not the world police and we need things fixed here.

Listen, my motivations are idealistic, but if yours are not, think of this. We are very obviously all over the mid east. Clearly and blatantly. Do you think terrorists are dumb just cuz they are the enemy? Where do you think they likely have already moved their bases on to, and we even know it. If our generals will only be happy with action all the time, then i know a better region....by the way, i havent seen any other news bits on the special force team (s) that did get sent into Africa a couple months ago. Any update CNN?

You are just kids thinking you know everything because you know how to surf the web wearing your suits in a cubical. Mommy and Daddy paid for your Ivy college right? You may be smart but you're not wise. Enjoy the Starbucks and make sure you look perfect.Wimps

You are just typical Americans who can't think past the "status" of the people, personalities and other values are worthless and irrelevant in your filthy brains. You and people in your mindset are a shame to the humankind.

I think that that guy is stupid too but what makes you think that the dude is American? Also how many Americans have you known to make such a judgement?

February 8, 2012 at 8:04 am |

stateschool

I think you might be confusing the United States with India and its caste system. You also might consider that about half the people who post on sites such as this are either neo-Nazis or off their meds. You should probably read a book about the United States to learn some truth about Americans.
p.s. Your English is quite good, but you mean to say either "humanity" or "the human race," not "the humankind."

You don't die for other "countries", you die for one other country. Israel makes you eliminate its enemies, this is all part of an Israeli game. It's so well-planned and played that most of you can't see it clearly, and those that do are called all sorts of names and labeled and condemned when they voice it out.

February 8, 2012 at 7:59 am |

Jebus

Because Juses died for our sins.

February 8, 2012 at 8:05 am |

Sean

@ Mark Bezel
You sir are what they call a goat.

February 8, 2012 at 8:31 am |

Zayah

Incorrect. Read up on the UN and what we are treaty bound to do cause of our membership.

In your sorry state of obtuseness, you really think pulling out of something we formed is an option? If we didn't want to automatically be drafted into foreign conflicts, that's a path we should have paved after WWII. We are too big and too powerful now to ignore such. Argue all you want; we have a responsibility to respond in some fashion.

February 8, 2012 at 8:15 am |

TimC

Right! This is their fight. We have no business there. Our only 'military option' should be our military handing their citizens a rifle and a box of ammo and let them sort out their own mess.

That too is a military option that draws us square into the conflict. It is also a cheesy option; the likes of what Iran does with Hezbollah. We wouldn't want to play by the Iranian playbook so we more than likely are better of inserting a small buffer force or a recon unit to do damage behind the scenes and demoralize the oppressors.

@ equalizer, fair argument but it almost made sense. Firstly, your scenario is impossible for all purposes and intent. Secondly, yes, the participation is disproportionate and that's what makes us not them. We shouldn't continue to pull stunts like we did in Iraq but we certainly can't afford to be passive now. That's a course we should have taken after WWII and remained in.

February 8, 2012 at 8:31 am |

Sean

@ equalizer
Well said. We are not the only ones who signed that treaty. What this fool doesn’t understand is if we keep fighting other people’s wars we are going to implode. Then who is going to be the world police and hand out the welfare checks to these worthless sandbox countries? We can only afford to do so much. Here is a question for the idealist: When is it someone else’s turn? Are there not more signatures on that treaty than our own? Ooo whats that? They can’t afford to help… hmm sounds familiar.

February 8, 2012 at 8:38 am |

dan

Can someone else think about military action besides the bankrupt USA. Maybe some rich OIL countries should step in and take care it's owen back yard for a change

If those rich oil empires had something at stake, they'd probably act. It is certainly something for the US to keep its eyes on when certain regions in the world start looking unstable. We have other regional interests there, not necessarily Syria. We also don't want to provide Iran another avenue to exert some regional clout. If we had regional interests in Africa, we'd be all over Somalia, Sudan, and Northern Nigeria too.

Ok oh wise know everything bloggers you still havent answered the question. WHAT RESOURCE DOES ISREAL HAVE THAT WE ARE PREPARING FOR THE NEXT WORLD WAR? Who owns most of the media? Yeah why not lets just take out the whole middle east and kill everyone above the age of 10 because thats the only way to change that region. Lets just keep bowing to Isreal right. To hell with the rest. Watch other newscasts around the world and you'll get a diffent picture. More Germans died and most of the country was destroyed because of a insain regime that fooled the public. But thats never taken into consideration is it.

I don't know but I'm also confused because the top 3 media companies in the world are Walt Disney, News Corporation and Time Warner. These companies aren't controlled by Israel so this guy is i don't know what.

February 8, 2012 at 7:46 am |

Are you off your meds

As the handle says are you off your med's. you ramble and make no sense.

Hitler made a lot of military moves until finally going one too far by attacking an ally of France and Britain (Poland) and starting WW2 proper. Kinda like us. Syria is the first strong Russian ally we have used our mercenary army on.
Got iodine pills?

Any more bailouts and rexscues of other countries mean we will own a stake in their natural resources. Somebody has to pay for this and it's not going to be all on us from now on. So, for 50% of their gross national product each year for eternity, we will support sending troops in to 'save them'. No more of this – we invade and foot the bill, then leave 300 billion in equipment to them when we leave' and ever ask for anything – it doesn't work.

And what's it get us? They all hate us anyway. Let's drop the big one now.

More room for you more room for me.

- Randy Newman.

February 8, 2012 at 7:23 am |

Truth is truth

Sorry to burst your bubble CNN, but just as in Libya, covert military operations by the west along with terrorist mercenaries is already taken place. For those of you who rely on this "news"site and other govt. propaganda outlets, you are not getting the facts on Sryia and just about everything else. Don't be lazy, do an interten search for the full text of the Arab League's report on Sryia. Don't trust the media to mention it or publish it because they won't. So far only small publicans and foreign news out
Ets have reported on it. The Arabs League's own report states, armed gangs are killing the military AND CIVILIANS! The report also notes the general consensus among the Sryian people is they don't want foreign intervention. Also, it states most peaceful protests are left alone. Now you know why the big propaganda outlets aren't talking about it and keep this false narrative of evil govt. killing peaceful protesters. Now, I'm sure that that is the ce to some extent but ignoring the armed gangs killing both sides should not be ignored. This is one of the main reasons Russia and China vetoed the resolution.

Furthermore, it's been noted that the CIA! MI5 and special forces from US, UK, and France are on the ground working with islamisic terrorists. These are the same armed groups mentioned in the Arab Leagues's report. If you think it sounds crazy.. .it is, but it oesn'nt mean its not true. Look at Libya, the Us and the west supported Al Qaeda. It's fact. They are us ing weapons from Libya and the same terror groups in Syria. Do our research, I can't do it for you. You will find everything I am writing is true. But first, read the PDF of the AL's findings. If you don't think special ops are on the ground stabilizing things you are in a fantasyland. Just as all the illegal wars in the mid east of the past the mainstream accounts are not reality. Remember WMDs in Iraq? No regime change in Libya?

Not just the AL, though they had the support of the US and others at the UN but the report only confirms others who have been on the ground there? Reports from Muslim ,non Muslim US, Russian and other investigative reporters kept coming back with the same reports. They also interview residents. I've seen a vid of white man with british accent being caught by civilians with a sniper rifle. What do you make of that?

February 8, 2012 at 7:24 am |

cinge

you got one thing right. don't trust the western media. cnn, bbc, and npr first and foremost. they have so much power, it's scary. blatant lies and manipulations every day.

You are right. Family members in Syria have confirmed this. Including my cousin who lives in Homs and they can only leave their house for a couple of hours each week to buy food. This world is blind and CNN is not helping at all.

Damn., sorry to hear. Hopefully the truth gets out even more, these propaganda outlets are guilty of aiding in the slaughter. Tell your family to film these terrorists if they can and publish worldwide, including mainstream media...if they will even publish it

February 8, 2012 at 7:36 am |

Ivolunteered

The wealthy investors and industrialists who own Wall Street and Washington and The Media and profit from wars, would never lie to us, or try to manipulate us!
LOL

The tin foil hat straw man argument? Really? That doesn't work anymore. Tell me, what is so "tin foil" about sating facts? Prove me wrong on what I am saying. Have you read the Arab League's report? Have you seen the footage of the British sniper caught by the citizens? Have you done any research? I have facts, you have slander. Here's a challenge. Zprove what I have said is false or made up. until then you have no argument accept name calling.

February 8, 2012 at 10:04 am |

RlLyy

The US military has been stripped down do drastically – and more to come – that we aren't even prepared to defend our own homeland anymore. How can we get involved in anything else? If we do – we will need the draft.

That almost sounds tongue in cheek with the situation in Syria, Iran's destabilization/nuke obsession/hostility and a NK's new Dear Leader taking the reigns, etc... But these countrys are so self-concerned and our forces so tired and purses so empty that a 5-10 year period of partial inactivity is probably a good idea. If we need to launch into some "world police" action lets do it on our terms and no one elses. The real threat is always other non-allied super powers, and while things may be improving at a snails pace with Russia, China looms ever larger.

February 8, 2012 at 7:33 am |

Brian

defend our homeland from whom...mud hut dwellers with AK47s and homemade bombs kept the most advanced, well funded military on Earth bogged down for 10 years...defending our own homeland would be pretty simple. We spend 6x's more than the next country on Earth on military spending, why?

Maybe we shouldn't get involved in anything else. Besides, who is going to invade us, and how will they get their troops to our soil, no nation has a navy large enough to transport it's troops while fighting our navy, calm down and think.

Invasion hasn't been a threat since WWII realistically and the cold war if you were the paranoid, worst-case-scenario envisionist. However, our interests, which are numerous, expensive, and all over the globe require us to be ever-mobile, armed to the teeth and vigilant. If we want to maintain our standard of living then we have to play the part of the aggressive watchdog even when not technically at war with anyone. It's a shame really, I'd prefer a more European model of international behavior but it's just not in the cards.

February 8, 2012 at 7:41 am |

F-22 MIG killer

So we go and do something and risk a war with Russia? What is there to be gained save bragging rights for our AirForce. They will just stab us in the back like in Iraq. Why is Isreal so important? What resource do they have that we are aimed to go to war and fight their battle with Iran. It was a bad idea for the Jewish people to reclaim their ancient lands with our help after WWll. Surely that was the biggest blunder of the 20th century. When does it end.

instead of "georgia on your mind" you have Israel on your brain. people with uncontrolled obsessions can be helped with medication. In the meantime, why not stick to the subject of the article and give your anti israel and anti jew rants a rest.

Israel should get involved they are local and it would show they are out for peace not some childish antic of you cant have it cause I do. They constantly remind us of thier genocide but do nothing when its happening to someone else.

THIS IS SO SAD....NOT WHATS HAPPENING IN SYRIA BUT THE U.S.A. AND THE PRESIDENT...LEAVE OTHER COUNTRIES ALONE AND LETS DEAL WIH OURRRRRRRRRRR PROBLEMS FIRST...EVERY TIME SOMETHING BAD HAPPENS SOMEWHERE ELSE WE ALWAYS HAVE TO GET OUR NOSE IN THERE...HOW ABOUT NOT FOR ONCE? I FUCKING HATE AMERICA FOR THIS SHIT FUCK U OBAMA AND FUCK U GOVERNMENT GO FUCK YOURSELVES TO DEATH!!!!!!!!!!!

Speaking on behalf of those who serve currently in the Armed Forces, How dare you hate something that provides you with the rights and freedoms of those whom are in trouble. We are here to support and defend those who cannot stand up for themselves. By all means don't let the door hit your ass on the way out of this great country of ours. Sure theres problem but your leaders aren't rocketing innocent civilians that are are peacefully protesting. Be thankful for what your have and leave these problems to the professionals. Im very happy there isnt a draft in place because with your attitude you would make it 5 days in a combat area, or your just a coward and would probably dodge the draft in the first place. Either way support our country or shut the hell up..

I think your comments have a lot of spirit, but lack definition. Being in a teaching position of rank, surely you can understand the bigger picture beyond what than your daily life consists of. Our troops can train at home. I dont think our great country needs to keep running around to every hotspot that pops up. I blame the internet and instant-everything. Its too fingertip, makes it seem like its immediate. I support our country till my last breath, but as a voter its my right to have an opinion on what choices we make. If its so important to help foreign protestors and struggling independants, why is it always the middle east where you want to do so? I seem to see Africa needing a little g-d help for a lot longer than you sandbox training ground.

February 8, 2012 at 7:40 am |

Brian

not the hope and change you were looking for Justin...time to grow up a little son...the world is a nasty place and the government rarely solves anything, they just create more problems...this is why we need less of it

I am no Muslim, but comments like that completely discus me. I am Catholic, but by religious views/beliefs do not influence my decisions, not would I label an entire group of people as "bad". This is the problem with many people here, just lump everyone into one group and there you go. This is completely unfair to them. I have many Muslim great friends who I will stand up and defend anytime. They want nothing but good for our nation, and are completely accepting the fact that our faiths can coexist without conflict.

We have rights in the United States, one of which I would like you and those hate-mongers out here to exercise, you do have the right to remain silent…

Now go back to whatever rat hole you came from and fix the problems you ran away from.

February 8, 2012 at 7:18 am |

Save these people

Imagine our country in this sort of turmoil. Would you not want assistance from some savior. These people are only guilty of being born in this country ruled by a monster administration. How does any human stand by idle allowing this. Russia and China should be thrown off the the U.N. Security council or their veto power should be relinquished. They are commiting murder right alongside Assad. Imagine aliens coming from another planet to exterminate us. This is no different!!!! Cease all trade and communication with all countries involved in this massacre immediately~!

God speed to all inncoent civilians in Syria... My prayers are with these people

Save the murders from the murders? Sounds like down hill business to me. Freedom comes at a price, you can't expect someone to hand that freedom to you. When you rely on someone else, you only become slave to a new master.

we were this country a little over 200 years ago {too bad they don't teach American history anymore} and there weren't any saviors...we fought for our freedom through war and we won it, this is how it works!

With all due respect you may want to read and repost....
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Revolutionary_War

February 8, 2012 at 8:31 am |

regertz

This is not the same as Libya. It's a tougher job than Libya logistically and there is no coalition likely to take the heat off us. Unless the Arab League agrees to send troops and we supply air support and logistics I have to say our answer should be no, sorry. We can't do this alone...And they have to share some of the responsibility if nothing is done. The MIddle East can't spit on America and then demand "World Police USA" do something. I'll back us helping, but this is where the Arab nations must decide they want intervention and they are willing to kick in militarily. I would go for an operation to rescue people by pulling them out but that's the only solo activity the US should consider here.

Sooner than later the greater Middle East will realize that we are willing to sp[ill our blood for their democracy. This has to reign supreme, otherwise you are right. Why are we fighting a battle for a people that doesn't appreciate it!

The "Arab Spring" is not about democracy - as the liberal media like CNN would have you believe. The Arab mindset will never grasp Jeffersonian Democracy. The only thing they understand are the likes of Saddam, Asad, Khadaffy, the Ayatollahs and Saladin.

Let them concentrate on destroying each other. Stay out of it.

February 8, 2012 at 6:29 am |

alfred12

OK, I'm right with you. But... What if you hyour neighbor (next door from your apartment) is massacring his own kid with the butt of his rifle... Will you stand up and do something?

My next door neighbor isn't the same thing as a country full of Islamofascists.

February 8, 2012 at 6:50 am |

cinge

I agree. Anyone who believes the muslim brotherhood resembles human rights, tolerance, and freedom in any way is dreaming. therefore, obama is dreaming. egypt was the biggest and most dangerous blunder of his administration. Get him out. He's dangerous. (spoken by a liberal democrat).

there's an endless supply of unrest and revolutions, and countless conflicts and mass murders... thousands are being killed in Mexico how about a little military intervention there? street gangs both foreign and domestic openly control vast areas of most US cities, killing whomever they please how about a little military intervention there? there are rape camps and human trafficking in the US how about a little military intervention there? then there's African genocide and starvation how about a little military intervention there? it goes on and on..thank god we have the media to tell us which ones to get worked up over and which to ignore.

I hope you never have to be on YouTube running for your life from your own country's leader shelling your neighborhood. I wonder how many world cops you would be looking for in that event..... I understand what you are asking, I just think it is incredibly short sighted given the circumstances. Children are being slaughtered. There should be a line of countries ready to intervene.

Those guys running for their lives begging for our help are the next wave of suicide bombers who can't wait to ease up next to you some day while you're waiting on line to pay for your latte at Starbuck's.

Fuckem.

February 8, 2012 at 6:31 am |

chaz8181

Since Syria has little if any economic interest for the U.S. .. we will not get involved. Now if GWB was prez and there was much oil under the sands of Syria,,we would invade ..

Nope...not this time! ....it's not what it appears! I don't trust Iran and I'm still giving the evil eye to Russia and China for their veto! I trust our President, Panetta and Military leaders to watch this closely and act in the best interest of OUR country. Stay away from this!!!

A day late and a dollar short. Thousands have already been murdered by the Syrian government. It's too bad Syria doesn't have much oil. We would have been in there instantly if they were a big producer.

Two wrongs do not make a right. The option of war in my point of view is wrong because,Hafez Al-Assad is using violence through his Armed Forces and criminal gangs to kill his own people.If the United States of America wages war on the Assad Regime,Many more will die. The wise thing to do in my point of view is for Washington to continue to convince Moscow and Peking to join the International Community to bring to bear maximum economic,Political and diplomatic pressure on the dictator in Damascus to relinquish his grip on power immediately.I believe this is possible even though it failed once lately at the United Nations.The Act of war and agression is not always the best solution,and must only be used when all options are exhausted,and there is clearly no other solution.

Why should Assad stop? So they can put him on trial and cut-off his fingers. Look what happened to Ghaddafy (or however you spell it) and look whats happening in Libya now. Keep kicking butt Assad, like the name Bashir (basher yu head in). Keep on killing, that is about all that humans are good at, KEEP KILLING! KEEP KILLING!-Yea!!

I think we should kill all the Nazi Rednecks Pig Eating lards and blow up all thier churches that protect the priests that put thier hands on little children,, get an ecuducation scumbag. oh wait u cant,, an imbred cant learn,, never mind 😉

"Before we start talking about military options," Yeah, right. Isn't this whole article and the release by unnamed sources really trying to prepare us for yet another war that is none of our business. I really don't know why we'be become the bully of the world but I'm a bit tired of it.

i guess youd rather remain on the side of killing instead of solving why? so everyone can have to deal with murder... thats why your hear now it angers you id hope you coild go to the good side and want the world to stop its ignorant killing.

@The Rock, I resent your comment. I am an American of Palestinian descent who did honorable svc in the US Marines for 4 yrs. Although, it was peacetime, I was committed to sacrifice my life for this country and my comrades. Not all arabs are bad. Most are not. You're always going to have the bad w/the good in any race.

Like I said, that is all humans are really good at, KILLING. Humans don't have to be educated, don't have to be artistic, don't have to have any theories or invent anything. We are the best at KILLING!

Ray is right on point. Even after all the patriotism after 9/11, do you know what percentage of Americans signed up to fight? Less than 1%. Compare that with Pearl Harbor when the enlistment lines stretched for city blocks.

Maybe what we do need is a draft - we'd really think twice before getting into "dumb" wars then.

A big mistake without Allah's backing. Allah akbar! Let's go kill some more humans. Sometimes I wish an advanced alien culture would come by and say, "Let's put these humans out of their misery....BOOOM!

The Syrian dictator is financed by the Biildenburg grouping of elitist radicals that have for the past 50 years controlled bo the US Congress and the Senate. THey are not to be trusted. I myself have interviewed many of these people privately and I can tell you that from them I have learned not a thing.

USA and the zionist entity want to occupy and disarm Syria, a stong and close ally or Iran. They will then move on to bomb Iran and then the Greater Zion country can be established, spanning from the Nile to the rivers of Tiger and Euphrates, as depicted on the zionist 10 agorot coin. Arabs and muslims will be all deported to the pampas of Argentina and the Tierra Fuego, as the state-bankrupt Argentine had agreed to that in exchange for zionist money. Hopefully Russia and Iran will prevent this evil plan from taking place, although I have doubts about Russia, because their leader Medvedev is half-jewish descent. The Rotschild's race is very cunning, sneaky, mean, stingy, greedy and belligerent. The can use kabbalistic alchemy to transmutate the death of scores of goyim people into buillion gold. That is why wars still take place in this world, to enrich the self-appointed "chosen" ones.

Hey! I am Jewish and no one filled me in on this glorious plan! Wow! Am I in the dark. Are you serious? Israel is roughly the size of New Jersey and very crowded. Can I honestly look forward to purchasing a house on the Nile or the Euphrates in a couple of years? Always wanted to go down to the river. Aw... c'mon! Don't get my hopes up for nothing!

You know, this is beginning to make sense. I have read some literature like 'None dare call it conspiracy", etc. and about the Bilderburgers and it makes a lot of sense.....NNNOOOOTTTTT!!!!! LMAOF also!!!

Any support (humanitarian, arms) for the Syrian protestors is needed now as well as military support for the Syrian Free Army. We have to remove this Nazi regime for that's what it is. The UN has been neutered by the arch-weasels Russia and China who have lost any remaining credibility. We need to see safe havens set up in the rebel areas, the arming of those defending those areas, look at ways to eliminate the army and the thugs, and most importantly look at ways of getting civilians away from the conflict to secure areas. Many of these towns are close to the border with Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey giving opportunities for aid and arms to be brought in. Drones could be used to hit high level military personnel and the leadership itself. WE're looking at another Srebrenica and another Sarajevo if we do nothing.

Let it go Jack. Humans are at their best when killing each other. Go to bed, fall asleep and don't give it another thought. That is all you have to do, humans will be killing each other again tomorrow also so you can tune right in again.

2 heavy armored brigades being pulled out of west germany right now more to follow Israel will hit IRAN unilaterally for umm say two weeks hezbollah unleashed throughout middle east with SYRIA as the second head of the snake and the snakes get whacked big time air + ground in syria,+ US doubles down on IRAN with massive airstrikes + more ground + special ops battling revolutionary guards in kuwait iraq + gulf assorted gulf states its gonna happen this year + egypt as well. WAKE UP

Wow! Assad is doing better than I thought! Go get 'em Assad. Make their ass 'sad'. Man, the thrill of it all, can you imagine blowing out a wall of a house and have baby parts all over, super. Better than the Super Bowl. Man I can't wait until the new pictures tomorrow morning and all the news heads looking so sad. GO GET 'EM ASSAD, Yeah!!

Seriously, American can not be world policeman. If the rest of the world thinks this is horrible too, don't look for big brother USA to start and carry the load of every fight. Arab league should be the only, if any, military presence in Syria.
....
But we all know that's not how its gonna be. We demolish Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, soon to be Syria. We establish pro us governments so that we can gain strategic oil deposits for the coming economic war with China.
....
Iran will be the next after this, we almost baited them into a war with the blockade of the straight of Hormuz. We will either cripple them into a fight or cause a regime change. The big question is not if but at what point do China and Russia join forces and say this is the line *iran* dont cross it to the usa.

As much as it pains me to admit it though, I think James is right to some degree. The accounts and images coming out of Syria are horrific, and something does need to be done to stop it. I want nothing more than for a group of allied countries to step in, including the United Nation. But the Arab League needs to be involved as well. The U.S. alone cannot continue to be the world police, especially with some of the atrocities recently committed by our military now coming to light. We are already seen by many countries as global war mongers. We should support and participate in an allied intercession, but we cannot be the only ones to initiate.

February 8, 2012 at 3:38 am |

Lee

Sorry Stephanie but this is none of our business. We are permitting tens of thousands men, women and children to die in Somalia and we do nothing, but for some reason because their is a small civil war in Syria WE have to get involved? This is a Syrian problem and just we would not have wanted foreign countries to intervene in our civil war, we need to stay out of theirs. I'd like to be proud of my country but as long as it continues it's bully-boy tactics, I feel nothing but shame.

February 8, 2012 at 5:27 am |

.

Good one, Chris.... I like.

February 8, 2012 at 6:56 am |

Ralph M

James- Your paranoid rant is is too much. It is obvious you are one of those tea bagging trolls.
The majority of Americans dont want to be anywhere near the middle east, let alone fight for them or their oil. Sadly our politicians are too used to the oil company teat. If the Syrian people want that mentally and morally corrupt idiot gone, it is on them to do it. Grow a pair fella's.
If these countries want to charge too much for oil, we should just stop supporting them. Then we'll have plenty of money for it {if the government will stop the corporate welfare}.
Politicians need to start being as concerned for the citizens, as they are for their bank accounts. Republican or Democrat....they are all corrupt.

Reposted: There is a whole bunch of Syrian cyber warriors, here and elsewhere. For these mostly Alawi's, it is a matter of kill or be killed. And Assad is an idiot who dug grave for not just Alawi's but Syrian christians as well, when he thought that he could win in a sectarian civil war. This is not Lebanon, it will not take 15 years, instead it will be done in just about 1 more year, but in the end, the Alawi's and Syrian christians will suffer the most and its because they supported and believed in this idiot Assad and the people calling the shots behind the scenes, the puppet masters of the puppet called Assad, the smiling butcher in pin stripe suits.

"Syrian Christians will face reprisal's as well"? Not really! I am an American of Sunni Syrian descent and I have plenty of Christian Syrian friends who are viewed as normal Syrians by 95% of all Syrian Sunni Arabs who comprise of 65% of the Syrian population. Christians will face no such persecution. It is true that most Sunni Syrians are more secular then other Muslims because the Sunni leader of Syria prior to the disgraced Hafiz-al Asad (the father of the current tyrant of Syria) was quite secular himself and had Christians that held very important posts in Syria, a nation that is comprised of roughly 8-10% Arab Christians. However, as for the Alawites, this is a different story and I cannot say much because the hatred that the Alawite leadership have created in the last 40 years is beyond quantitative measure. The Christians will be sitting on the fence as they always do and fall on the side of the winner which is expected by both Sunni's and Alawites.

Thanks for the correction. Since you are of Syrian descent, no question you would know the situation better.

February 8, 2012 at 2:28 am |

ax

From Assad and his people's hacked email:
"Hello dear,

Please let me know if you need anything else.
Barbara will be here on the 2nd and the interview will be on the 4th because she is leaving on the 6th so that would give you some time to do the editing.

Thank you.

After doing a major research on the American Media's coverage on the Syrian issue and the American Society's perspective of what is happening on the Syrian ground, I have concluded some important points that might be helpful for the preparation of the upcoming interview with Barbara Walters.

I based my research on online articles written about the Syrian issue, my personal contacts with the American journalists, my father and Syrian expatriates in the States.

The Major points and dimensions that has been mentioned a lot in the American media are:

The Violence:
* The idea of violence has been one of the major subjects brought up in every article. They use the phrases "the Syrian government is killing its own people", "Tanks have been used in many cities", "airplanes have been used to suppress the peaceful demonstrations" and "Security forces are criminals and bloody".

Bloodshed:
· Bloodshed is another subject brought up in the American media. There is no mention of how many "soldiers and security forces have been killed". They think that bloodshed is done by the government to attack the "innocent civilians" and "peaceful demonstrators". Mentioning "armed groups" in the interview is extremely important and we can use "American and British articles" to prove that there are "armed gangs".

Reform:
· The American audience doesn't really care about reforms. They won't understand it and they are not interested to do so. Thus, a brief mention of the reforms done in the past couple of months is more than enough.
· It is very important to mention the huge economical and political transformation that Syria has gone through in the last 11 years. Somehow, there needs to be a clarification that reform started since H.E took the office.

Mistakes:
· It is hugely important and worth mentioning that "mistakes" have been done in the beginning of the crises because we did not have a well-organized "police force". American Psyche can be easily manipulated when they hear that there are "mistakes" done and now we are "fixing it". Its worth mentioning also what is happening now in Wall Street and the way the demonstrations are been suppressed by police men, police dogs and beatings.

Torture Policy:
"Syria doesn't have a policy to torture people" unlike the USA, where there are courses and schools that specializes in teaching police men and officers how to torture criminals and "outlaws". For instace, "the electric chair and killing through injecting an overdose amount of medicine"...etc.
*We can use Abu Ghraib in Iraq as an example.

The Comments:
· The comments that follow any article in the American Media are a very important tool to use in the interview. The Americans now believe that their government has failed two wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. They are asking their government to stop interfering in other countries businesses and sovereignty and to start taking care of the American internal issues.

Obama popularity's decline and incline through the past 3 years:
· It is worth mentioning that when Obama asked H.E to step down he himself have had a 70% decrease of his popularity in the States.
· It would be worth mentioning how your personality has been attacked and praised in the last decade according to the media. At one point H.E was viewed as a hero and in other times H.E was the "bad guy". Americans love these kinds of things and get convinced by it.

Facebook and You tube:
This is very important to the American mindset. The fact that Facebook and youtube are open now-especially during the crises- is important.

The International media:
· We should mention that in the first month the international media was allowed in Syria. Both al Jazeera and al Arabia's offices were open but when they started to manipulate what is happening and "make up facts", the Syrian government became more cautious about who will enter the country.

10) Civil war in Syria and the neighboring countries:
We can use Noland and Hillary's statements encouraging armed groups to not give up their weapons as a "clear" way of asking for a civil war in Syria.

11) The opposition:
* a brief mention of the opposition "figures". Syria doesn't have an opposition leader with a "ready" agenda; they are all from the previous generation. The opposition was asked to meet by the Syrian government but most of them refused to attend.

Key Points:
The government's crackdown, the bloody regime, civil war, security forces and violence, Tanks, you tube torture clips, Pres. Assad IGNORES the bloodshed and the "help" of other countries and the Arab League", Army defectors, Robert Fords return to the US for "Security reasons", Syria is an authoritarian government.

The Broadcasting hours and channels:
· The interview will be broadcast across ABC News platforms – including World News, Good Morning America, This Week, ABC Radio, a full edition of Nightline, and full-length treatment across the digital space (for ABC News this now includes Yahoo as well – which means you can reach as many as 100 million people. ABC News and Yahoo recently joined forces – which is another reason why so many people now bring their interviews to us).
The exact dates/times for all these broadcasts depends on when the interview is done.

This is all ABC News – every platform. The entire interview would run on ABC News Digital; "Nightline" will devote an entire broadcast; "World News" at least one night, maybe two; "Good Morning America" a segment; "This Week" a segment. And so on."

now everyone go home unless you are there turn on your tv and you will on hear nothing much about it except what they wanna tell you. just pray you done hear sirens in the near future. the world at large... instead of fighting youll be putting tail betw

United States and Allies should jump in...take action and don't wait until create another Holocaust or khmer rouge genocide ! Without United States government and military throughout world history of war and freedom , we wouldn't be here !

No. They HATE US! I could care less if they all die. Why should we help them? Look at history. We help out a nation, within a few years and decades, they are calling for our deaths, burning our flag, and blowing up our buildings.

So what if they hate us. I think this is a fight we must fight. Staying out of this would only send a message to others that this genocide is acceptable. Russia and China may say no, but I say who cares to what they say. Every nation must do as it believes. Woodrow Wilson once said " we shall fight for the things which we have always carried nearest our hearts – for democracy, for the right of those who submit to authority to have a voice in their own Governments, for the rights and liberties of small nations, for a universal dominion of right by such a concert of free peoples as shall bring peace and safety to all nations and make the world itself at last free."

You may think I am an Idealist, but these Ideals are what made America great.

February 8, 2012 at 9:42 am |

ax

The Alawi Capture of Power in Syria
by Daniel Pipes
Middle Eastern Studies
1989
http://www.danielpipes.org/191/the-alawi-capture-of-power-in-syria
"It appears inevitable that the 'Alawis – still a small and despised minority, for all their present power – will eventually lose their control over Syria. When this happens, it is likely that conflicts along communal lines will bring them down, with the critical battle taking place between the 'Alawi rulers and the Sunni majority. In this sense, the 'Alawis' fall – be it through assassinations of top figures, a palace coup, or a regional revolt – is likely to resemble their rise.
--------------------------–
June 15, 2000 update: Pace the last paragraph above: The fall of the 'Alawis is indeed inevitable, but the succession of his Bashshar al-Asad on the death of hs father Hafiz al-Asad on June 10, 'Alawi rule in Syria continues.

March 1, 2010 update: "Today, the Alawis of Syria are the only ruling religious minority in the Muslim world." With that striking statement, Yvette Talhamy, formerly of Haifa University, opens her important article, "The Fatwas and the Nusayri/Alawis of Syria" in Middle Eastern Studies.. She reviews fatwas hostile to the 'Alawis from before the twentieth century and three friendly ones from the twentieth century, arguing that "these fatwas shaped the history of the Nusayris." It's one of the few pieces of research to build on the subject of the article above."

The reality of the matter is that no one should feel bad for the Alawites whom 99% support Bashar al-Assad. They claim grievances against the Sunni Arab Majority yet no where in history has there been credible evidence that Sunni Syrian Arabs murdered, rape, killed, and imprisoned them on the scale they did to the Sunni Majority. The Alawites will fall from power and when they do they should not blame anyone but themselves.

Actually I'm really happy with the administration's stance on :"Don't ask Don't tell". This was a very HARD decision for me, but you know what? Now that I've done it I feel much better than before when all I did was worry worry worry. Can;t wait for my leave!!

oil must be a powerful product for the strongest country in the world is still playing these silly games with the oil rich im not a greeny but for now forget out of space and get nasa on to solar wind turbine electric car the chinese are about to introduce them just athought from a aussie.

Read this:
http://www.kforcegov.com/Services/IS/NightWatch/NightWatch_12000026.aspx
This is a farce people. Right or left wing, don't believe this war hype. Tell them NO. Our boys should not fight and die in Syria.

February 9, 2012 at 12:31 am |

steven

you came here to tell us you are pulling it out? amy you spend your gay time in Iram letting it allout,, or in,, whatever..
what a freak show..

I have a great option for Seeyria. Bomb the fuck out of it. Start with some tasty cruise salad and continue with a little nuky if that does not work. I guarantee you this will have results of the best kind. Let's get rid of Assman before he kills some Americans!

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